I’ve recently been diagnosed with Breast Cancer (Grade 2 invasive lobular and ductile). Due to have a mastectomy on 10th December. Will require a radiation injection the day before for my lymph nodes. Advised I will be on hormone treatment after the operation and depending on the results may require radiotherapy or chemotherapy. It’s all a bit daunting at the moment.
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Welcome to the forum @smeg13 . It really is very overwhelming at first , there is so much to get your head around .Try not to jump too far ahead if you can, deal with one treatment at a time . There is lots of support here on the forum from people who understand just how you feel .You might like to also post in the Recently diagnosed with breast cancer section of the forum and the Surgery section of the forum . Best wishes Jill
Hi @smeg13 I was in the same position as you at the beginning of October, not quite the same as didn’t have lobular so hopefully someone else who has that will pop along but I did have Invasive Ductal and DISC and had to have a mastectomy just over six weeks ago. There is so much going through your head and this will continue at each stage( I know I am the post mastectomy about to go onto chemo stage) but as Jill said try to take each stage as it comes and not think too far ahead ( easier said than done some days so don’t beat yourself up about that either) I was so worried about the mastectomy and whilst none of this is nice and you really don’t want to be a member of this special club ( even though there are the loveliest of people in it 
) my experience was it was nowhere near as bad as I had it in my head. Yes you are going to be sore and feel weird and I didn’t want to look for a couple of days but my advice would be to keep taking your pain killers regularly, get up when you can, rest , eat the things you want to eat , cry if you feel like it and be kind to yourself . I wish you all the very best x
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I’m so sorry to hear of your diagnosis. This is definitely the most scary and overwhelming time. But once you get underway with treatment it all becomes easier to deal with bit by bit.
I’m a lucky one on the other side now after March diagnosis of 2x grade 2 lobular cancer. I had mastectomy and tamoxifen, followed by final reconstruction last month . It’s been a tough year, and I can look back now on those early days as the scariest points of my life. Hard to believe I’m back to work and finally feeling more like my old self again, but I was very lucky and it hadn’t spread to lymph nodes.
The best advice I received from this brilliant community was : 1)write a list of questions as they pop into your head to ask your consultant.
2) Buy a V pillow and wedge pillow for post surgery recovery
3) Give yourself time to mentally adjust to your situation.
3) Stay away from Dr Google!! If you can’t ask your team, someone here will definitely have the answer.
Wishing you all the best with your treatment, be kind to yourself, and surround yourself with good people. 
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Hello @mumto2 i just seen your post about your diagnosis i think i am similar with dcis and invasive ductal carcinoma. Im having pre adjuvant chemotherapy first then surgery. My area of dcis is 60mm so there trying to shrink the invasive part for the mastectomy, how did your mastectomy go? Im not sure if i can dk skin sparing or diep flap 🩷
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Thank you for responding to my post. I don’t know whether I did the right thing, but I looked for groups via Facebook and had a lot of responses relating to reconstructive surgery whilst having a mastectomy. My nurse has stated it would be 2 years before considering reconstructive surgery.
I agree with you it’s a lot to process.
Hi @shannon27 so sorry you are going through this too 
very similar although they whipped me in straight away for mastectomy - my invasive was 6cm and ductal 11.2cm grade 3 ( although they didn’t know the final grade until after removal) . The mastectomy whilst emotional hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be - I was up and about the same day and started on with my exercises pretty soon after that. Yes was sore but I did t have any drains and my scar healed pretty quick. Be prepared it’s quite a big scar ( but I do ( did?) have big boobs !) but already it’s starting to calm down and doesn’t look as bad - not nice I won’t sugar coat it for you but I’d rather have that than the cancer. I haven’t discussed reconstruction yet as it all went too fast and I knew I was having radiotherapy as a definite so my surgeon said that reconstruction straight away was not a good idea as the radio could mess it up so have kind of put that on the back burner. I’m not sure if I will or I won’t but there is no rush to make these decisions - we already have a lot going on 
I’ve found surrounding myself with people who make me laugh and take the P out of me had helped me enormously- but not everyone will feel the same about that so just do what’s best for you - this is at least the one time when we can put ourselves first. When do you start chemo ? Or have you already started. I wish you the easiest of times either way I start week after next so fingers crossed for us all xx
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Hi @smeg13 I feel we have to do what’s best for us at the time, and listen to how we feel. I have made myself more anxious at times by reading things but I also want to be informed so it’s difficult , we make mistakes we are all humans. There are so many lovely people on here and people who are way infront in terms of treatment and people who are waiting diagnosis and I think we can all learn and support each other - it’s good to have a natter and to laugh out loud too I’ve seen things in threads that have made me howl 
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Hello @mumto2 thanks for your reply, sorry your going through this too. This is one place we never want to be but the support on these groups amaze me!
Im turning 31 on the 27th December and i have a 5 year old. Started chemotherapy on the 26th November so that was my first treatment. My area of dcis is 60mm and i have a small invasice area of 12mm but they cant be sure its that size. Ive had a ct scan, mri and all that to check. So yeah i have to have a mastectomy on my left i think im going to do a double mastectomy and reconstruction but will cross that bridge when it comes to whats best for surgery and radiotherapy after the chemo. But yeah ive heard mixed things about reconstruction and radiotherapy so just got go to take each step as it comes and get out of this at the other side 🩷 what ever it takes. I hope your treatment goes well aswell, ive just started doxetaxol and phesgo etc. Im triple positive xx
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Oh @shannon27 so young! I totally feel for you - I’m 48 - actually 49 tomorrow eek with a 19 and a 15 year old and it’s been very difficult trying to navigate this with them at that age when in essence they can do things for themselves ( although the do moan like hell sometimes ) we are the opposite way round with me having surgery first so it’s good to be able to share the different experience - I start chemo week after next I am also having doxetaxal but with cyclophosphamide- how are you finding the chemo? I know it’s early days and are you cold capping as I am in two
minds about that . Take it easy x
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Oh happy birthday for tomorrow 🩷 yes it is good to see what everyone elses journeys are like as there all different, its not been to bad horrible salty taste that comes and goes. Im on injections for the white blood cells and ive found them to leave me quite achy so was resting up today on the couch. Been doing small bits of walking as the fesh air helps but not been doing to much as it can leave me feeling a bit funny walking. Just been trying to drink plenty fluids , watermelon has been good aswell for me as my mouth has been dry. Wee bit of a crampy stomach but not to bad. Tuesday will be a week in to the first one so hopefully see some more improvements 🩷 yes im cold capping tbh the first 15 mins werent pleasant but after that it wasnt to bad i need to take extra padding as the chin strap was hurting the most for me so extra support for that is needed. It only adds 30 mins before and 20 mins after with the colf capping for doxetaxol so it wasnt to much longer but im giving it a bash 🩷
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Thanks @shannon27 I’m celebrating by taking my son to Rugby and hour away mums jobs are never finished. Thanks for the info on the chemo I am going to try to get out in the fresh air too and hopefully don’t have too many side effects . Good to know about the cold capping I think I might give it a try and see how I get on - think my extra chinsss might help with the padding scenario. Off to be now so night night, take it easy and message anytime .
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Enjoy your day 🩷 yes speak soon and i can up date more about cold capping as the weeks go on 🩷 take it easy night x
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My mastectomy is on 10 December and I have to have a radiation injection the day before so they can check the lymph nodes. Hormonal blockers have been mentioned as well as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but it’ll depend on the results when they have removed the breast tissue.
I’m the same and can say I’m well blessed in the breast department as well, but I agree I’d rather the boob go and take the cancer with it (I hope).
I agree with you about trying to be as normal as possible as my partner has been great, even though I know he’s worried. He suffered a cardiac arrest last October and has an ICD fitted.
We are carers for my mum who has dementia (early onset Alzheimer’s) and she was diagnosed with cancer of the unknown primary last July and we care for my partner’s autistic son.
I’ll be honest it’s been like a whirlwind over the last month or so trying to get my head around it all.
Hi smeg13
I’m sorry you have had a cancer diagnosis but it’s good you have found this place and lots of support from others.
I didn’t have a mastectomy or chemo so can’t offer any insight about those things, but I just wanted to provide some reassurance about things I have experienced. The radioactive injection for lymph nodes sounds way worse than it is in reality. Mine was over and done with in seconds, no discomfort at all. Radiotherapy was fine, in and out 15 mins each time, took longer to get to the hospital and back! I would also add that it is not a given that hormone medication will cause difficulties, some people have no side effects at all.
I know this is a scary time, but I just wanted to say this to try to reassure you that the reality of the treatments are often much less worse than what we fear they will be. x
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I will say the nurse has told me some funny stories about the prosthesis and I’ve had a look at what I’ll be getting.
My partner and I have decided to call ourselves the “Leftists” or “Leftovers”. He suffered a cardiac arrest last October and the survival rate is 1 in 20. He has an ICD fitted and he’s been a great support through the start of this.
I looked after him and my mother last year.
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Hi @smeg13
Wow you guys have been through a lot - I can empathise a bit as my dad had Alzheimer’s and it’s such a difficult thing to learn to cope with for everyone and my son has autism so I know how challenging that can be . I tend to tell myself they give the strong ones all the stuff to deal with although I think you have had way too much so you are having to be a bit of a Superwoman now 
Hope you have a strong support network around you I haven’t seen a prosthesis yet - the softie they gave me which was the biggest they had doesn’t even fill half my bra - although in an emergency you could use my bra as a parachute I looked online and thought jeez even if I don’t go for reconstruction I will need my other boob reducing so I don’t topple over in high winds 
. Love the leftist /leftovers we have to laugh about these things don’t we . Good luck on the 10th and happy to answer any other mastectomy questions you may have xx